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AI: The Somnium Files
The mind never lies… In a near-future Tokyo, detective Kaname Date is on the case of a mysterious serial killer. Date must investigate crime scenes as well as dreams on the hunt for clues. From the mind of Kotaro Uchikoshi (''Zero Escape series director), with character design by the Yusuke Kozaki (No More Heroes,'' Fire Emblem series), a thrilling neonoir detective adventure is about to unfold. AI: The Somnium Files (AI —ソムニウム ファイル—, AI —Somuniumu fairu—), stylized as AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES, is an upcoming mystery adventure game written and directed by Kotaro Uchikoshi, co-directed and designed by Akira Okada, produced by Yasuhiro Iizuka, and developed and published by Spike Chunsoft for the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and PC via Steam. The characters were designed by Yūsuke Kozaki and the game was composed by Keisuke Itō. It launches on September 17 (NA), September 19th (JP), and September 20th (EU), 2019 for a price of $59.99 for the Standard Edition, and $89.99 for the Special Agent Edition.Via Gematsu: "AI: The Somnium Files launches July 25; interview with director Kotaro Uchikoshi and designer Akira Okada"Via Spike Chunsoft: "AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES Release Date Changed to September 17 for North America"Gematsu: AI: The Somnium Files launches September 20 in Europe It was originally revealed at the Game Developer Conference (GDC) on March 2nd, 2017 as PROJECT:psync'Via DualShockers: "Zero Escape Developer Announces New Title Project: Psync", only featuring a teaser image of a robotic eye. Over a year later, at Anime Expo on July 5th, 2018Official Spike Chunsoft & Uchikoshi Panel, the game was officially revealed as ''AI: The Somnium Files at the Spike Chunsoft panel, along with the official trailer, and a special message by one of the characters of the game, Iris Sagan. On January 30th, 2019, a new YouTube channel called Lemniscate was created, where Kotaro Uchikoshi introduced the character Iris Sagan as the Net Idol A-set. This started a set of weekly videos created by A-set set within the universe of AI, adding new information to the world and acting as promotional material for the game. This lead into a "planned" special appearance by A-set at GDC 2019, but her a video was released on March 20th during GDC which featured shocking content. The following day, March 21st, the second trailer for the game was revealed, with an official release date of July 25th, 2019.Via Gematsu: "AI: The Somnium Files launches July 25; interview with director Kotaro Uchikoshi and designer Akira Okada" The video series continued for the following weeks, with interviews and news articles released for the game alongside them. A-set announced that she would be featuring world premiere gameplay of AI: The Somnium Files for her video on May 15th, with a Famitsu article detailing gameplay information releasing that morning (NA time). However, on that midnight morning, Spike Chunsoft announced that the game would be delayed for September 17th, 2019 in North America, with the Japanese date moved to Sept. 19 and the European date to be revealed. Story One rainy night in November, a woman’s body is found at an abandoned theme park, mounted on a merry-go-round horse. She had been stabbed repeatedly, and her left eye was gouged out. Kaname Date of the Metropolitan Police Department arrives on the scene. He recognizes the woman. Suddenly, he hears a noise from inside the merry-go-round. He breaks into the merry-go-round’s central column to find a young girl. And in her hands, she grips a bloody ice pick... Characters The characters are designed by Yūsuke Kozaki. The main casts consist of: * Kaname Date (VA: Greg Chun EN; Tarusuke Shingaki JP): the main playable character of ''AI: The Somnium Files''. A Tokyo MPD detective working in the Advanced Brain Investigation Squad. As a Psyncer, Date uses the Psync machine to dive into the minds of suspects or persons of interest. He lost his eye six years ago, but replaced it with a prosthetic eye which houses an advanced artificial intelligence known as an AI-Ball. He also lost all his memories past six years ago.Gematsu: AI: The Somnium Files details Somnium Parts, ABIS members * Aiba/AI-Ball (VA: Erika Harlacher EN; Akari Kito JP): the secondary playable character of ''AI: The Somnium Files''. An artificial eye equipped with an AI that usually resides in Kaname Date’s left eye socket. Her consciousness and Date’s are linked. In the real world, she looks like a small animal. However, when Date Psyncs to enter Somnia, she takes on a human form. * Iris Sagan (VA: Jackie Lastra EN; Nao Shiraki JP): Iris is an internet idol (musician) belonging to the entertainment office Lemniscate. Her stage name is “A-set,” but her fans call her “Tesa." She's the protagonist of her Lemniscate video series. She was allegedly murdered by the game's antagonist in the middle of the her video series, yet the series continued with her still present. Her channel exists in real life in the form of two YouTube channels (English and Japanese). * Ota Matsushita (VA: Zach Aguilar EN; Natsumi Fujiwara JP): A 24 year-old N.E.E.T. and net idol otaku. He's a supporting character in the Lemniscate video series. He is Iris’s number one fan. He is shy and not good in social situations. He is aiming to become a light novel author. He has an unrequited crush on Iris.Tesa Visits Maid Cafe Sunfish Pocket! * Mizuki Okiura (VA: Corina Boettger EN; Tomoyo Kurosawa JP): A 12 year-old elementary school student. For whatever reason, she lives with Kaname Date, who is a friend of her father. She acts mature and sometimes has a snappy attitude.A-set video: Tesa's Top 3 Favorite Snacks and Mascots!A-set video: Tesa's Matsushita Diner Review! Omelet Rice Edition!Translation on Famitsu article: character profiles and article contents * Boss (VA: Allegra Clark EN; Yûko Kaida JP): Leader of the ABIS team. Boss is Kaname Date’s direct superior and long-time friend. She appears to be an easygoing optimist with a carefree attitude, but she is as cunning as a fox with a quick wit. * Pewter (VA: Sean Chiplock EN; Hiroki Gotô JP): ABIS’s engineer and a brilliant scientist. Currently, he is responsible for maintaining the Psync machine and preparing Psyncs. He also invented Aiba (and set her personality to his liking). Some minor characters introduced so far include: * Renju Okiura (VA: N/A EN; Kenji Hamada JP): A-set's producer, the president of Lemniscate, and owner of Sunfish Pocket. He's Mizuki's father (or at least a relative) and a friend of Kaname Date. * Shoko Nadami (VA: N/A EN; Yu Kobayashi JP): A woman found dead on the merry-go-round in a defunct amusement park. Her left eye socket was hollowed out.Gematsu: AI: The Somnium Files: first gameplay, systems and five new characters detailed * Hitomi Sagan (VA: Dorah Fine EN; Sayaka Ohara JP): She is Iris’s mother. Her parents died in an accident when she was 17. She raised Iris alone. Due to an injury in the past, she can’t move her right arm. * Mayumi Matsushita (VA: Philece Sampler EN; Toshiko Sawada JP): She is Ota’s mother. Over 30 years ago, she and her husband took out significant loans to open Matsushita Diner. She can be forgetful at times. * So Sejima (VA: John DeMita EN, Naomi Kusumi JP): A member of the post-war generation. He grew up poor, which made him greedy for power and wealth. * Mama (VA: N/A EN; Kenta Miyake JP): Owns a bar that Date and Renju frequent. She is also an information broker in the criminal underworld. * Amame: A maid who works at the Sunfish Pocket maid café. *The Bloody Polar Bear: The culprit behind the new serial murders, who disguised themselves in a polar bear costume for one of their kills. *The Cyclops: The original culprit behind the Cyclops Serial Killings 6 years prior, who has never been caught by the police. May or may not be the current Bloody Polar Bear killer surrounding these murders. *Mr. Matsushita: Ota's father (only shown in flashbacks so far). *A character voiced by Reba Buhr. The character is described as a receptionist of some sorts, and is considered very funny and ridiculous. (Most likely the voice of Amame)'''Reba Buhr: "AI: The Somnium Files starring @greg_chun as Kaname Date is a generally dark, sophisticated, serious game...except for my character, the receptionist, who is for some reason ridiculous and very funny. Excited for it to drop! https://youtu.be/8Ibjdx-Vdsg" (Apr 17th) *At least 6 more characters (based on the boxart). *A-set (impostor) (VA: Jackie Lastra EN; Nao Shiraki JP): The deuteragonist of the Lemniscate video series, she is a mysterious figure who is identical to Iris Sagan in (almost) every way. It's unclear who or what she is, whether it be a clone, a disguise, an alternate reality version, a separate personality, etc., and it's even more unclear if she'll even appear in the game. But the theories persist, and the differences between her and the real A-set can't be denied.A-set video: This Is Your Idol Gameplay Throughout the game, you will play as Date as he explores Tokyo in search for clues, witnesses, and suspects. The game will be split between exploration in the real world and exploration within the dream worlds. Exploring the real world will act as a sort of investigation adventure, where you look for clues and gain testimonies from the interactions with people within a real-world scenario and landscape. Exploring the dream worlds will act as a sort of quick puzzle adventure, with a time limit of 6 minutes, and each person's dreams will be variedly represented and perhaps even act very different from each other. Editions The game is planned to release in two separate editions: a Standard Edition and a Special Agent Edition: Standard Edition The Standard Edition is the version of the game that will be commercially bought without restrictions across all available regions. It will be sold (and currently pre-ordered) at the starting price of $59.99, the standard price for all console video games. It will come with simply the game itself within the standard box, featuring the normal cover art by Yūsuke Kozaki. This version will be available on Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, and (digital only) via Steam on September 19th, 2019 (North America). Special Agent Edition The Special Agent Edition is an upgraded edition of the game, featuring many add-on parts and collectibles for the game. It will be sold (and currently pre-ordered) at $89.99, and currently it is only available for purchase in North America only. This edition will only be sold for the Nintendo Switch and the Playstation 4, due to it's physical requirements, on September 19th, 2019 (North America), corresponding with the standard edition. The Special Agent Edition comes with: * An outer box featuring an original (unrevealed) artwork design by Yūsuke Kozaki * AI: The Somnium Files in its normal box art * THOUGHTS REMaiN BELOW Artbook: 30+ pages of sketches and concept art * REVERIES IN THE RaiN Soundtrack: soundtrack disk from AI: The Somnium Files * An A-set Acrylic Stand: standing at around 6 inches tall * A-set's #1 Fan Stickers: 3 vinyl stickers ** The "A" logo from A-set ** The GEEK logo from Mato's sweater ** The Lemniscate logo Videos Articles and Interviews Here's a list of listed articles and interviews in relation to the game: * DualSHOCKER's GDC 2017 article by Azario Lopez * Gematsu's Anime Expo 2018 article by Sal Romano * Tech-Gaming's Anime Expo 2018 interview by Robert Allen * RPG Site's Anime Expo 2018 interview by James Galizio * AnimeNewsNetwork's post-Anime Expo 2018 interview by Jacob Chapman * GAMESPOT's A-set interview by Michael Higham (partially canonical to the universe) * Gematsu's GDC 2019 article and interview by Sal Romano * Medium's GDC 2019 interview by Gabby Snyder (partially canonical to the universe) * Operation Bluebird's GDC 2019 interview * Hardcore Gamer's GDC 2019 demo article by Jason Bohn * BleedingCool's GDC 2019 article by Madeline Ricchiuto * Noisy Pixel's GDC 2019 interview by Brad Crespo * Paralax Media's GDC 2019 interview by Erroll Maas, feat. Spencer Legacy * Operation Rainfall's GDC 2019 interview by Quentin H. * 4Gamer's post-GDC 2019 article (full translation by Pennelini) * Famitsu's post-GDC 2019 article (full translation by Pennelini) * Famitsu's post-GDC 2019 magazine scans (provided by NintendoEverything) (translation summary) ** Translations on character profiles at Perfectly Nintendo * Twinfinite's post-GDC 2019 article by Giuseppe Nelva * Silioncera's post-GDC 2019 interview * Honey's Anime's post-GDC 2019 interview by Alfonso "Fonzy" Ortiz * GAMESPOT's post-GDC 2019 article by Michael Highman * Famitsu's brand new BIG April article ** Translation provided at Gematsu by Sal Romano * Gematsu's paired English April article with Famitsu's by Sal Romano * Gematsu's English article with May Famitsu news by Sal Romano Gallery First set of images released: AI The Somnium Files cover.jpg|Cover art. Features Kaname Date, Aiba in her mascot and human forms, and Iris Sagan in color, as well as Ota Matsushita, Mizuki, Renju Okiura, Boss, Pewter, Mama, a Sunfish Pocket maid, and 6 unknown characters in black-and-white Mainvisual.png|Clean full cover art from the website Iris_Sagan.jpg|Iris Sagan Ota_Matsushita.jpg|Ota Matsushita Mizuki.jpg|Mizuki Aiba.jpg|Aiba Date investigating.jpg|Kaname Date Mizuki Night.jpg|Mizuki at night Ota and Mizuki investigating.jpg|Mizuki and Ota finding a tied-down body Iris crying and Date.jpg|Iris crying to Date Iris phone.jpg|Iris on her phone Ota and Iris investigate Marble.jpg|Ota and Iris investigating Marble Ota chillin with the gang.jpg|Ota, Iris, and Date Date and mystery man.jpg|Trust nobody, not even this random shadow man Mizuki beats mystery man.jpg|Mizuki kicks the shadow man's ass Protective daddy.jpg|Date shielding Mizuki from bullets pikachu girl.jpg|Aiba in the Somnium world Aiba and Mizuki.jpg|Mizuki crying with AI-Ball Memories of Bear and Iris.jpg|The Bloody Polar Bear about to kill Iris Memories of Bear fighting Ota.jpg|Man vs. Beast Lemniscate Map.jpg|Map of Tokyo; destination: Lemniscate Office The Mind Never Lies.png|Official infographic for the game Special Agent Edition.jpg|Special Agent Edition Second set of images (with unofficial fantranslations that may change at any moment): Psync Machine room.jpg|The Psync Machine Mizuki psync diving.png|Date explaining what Psyncing is Pewter close-up.png|Pewter explains the time limit of Psyncing Date comments on Somnium.png|Date commenting on the state of Mizuki's Somnium world Aiba enters Somnium.jpg|Aiba: "So it looks like Shoko getting killed was a huge wound to Mizuki's heart, was it..." Psynckin in the pain.jpg|PSYNCKIN' IN THE PaiN: Heal Mizuki's heart! Right now, Mizuki is suffering from aphasia. If you heal her heart, you may be able to get important information... Aiba finding icepick.png|Aiba finding the picture of Shoko Aiba finding cages.png|Aiba finds two bird cages Aiba choosing cages.png|Aiba selecting the right cage Mental Lock 3 Mizuki.jpg|Mizuki trapped in her 3rd Mental Lock Eye icepick choice.png|Choices at Shoko's picture Eye rod on picture.jpg|Shoko's photograph with an ice pick Lightning rod.jpg|Lightning striking a lightning rod for the puzzle Mental Lock 1 Mizuki.png|Mental Lock #1 Mizuki good route 1.png|Good path (first image) Mizuki good route 2.png|Good path (second image) Mizuki bad route 1.png|Bad path (first image) Mizuki bad route 2.png|Bad path (second image) Aiba pie to face.jpg|Aiba receiving pie to the face Aiba buckethead.jpg|Aiba mimicking Sigma Klim Aiba smiling.jpg|Aiba happy (while on the phone(?)) Aiba chugging.jpg|Aiba chugging a drink out of the bucket Aiba in imagination box.jpg|Aiba having fun with Spongebob and Patrick inside the imagination box Aiba in electricity.jpg|Aiba holding an object while being electrified Aiba hanging by a fan.jpg|Aiba hanging on to a fan Smug Aiba working on construction.jpg|Smug Aiba: “They don’t call me Drift King for nothing!” Crate in Somnium.jpg|A strange Somnium world Iris attacked in Somnium.jpg|Iris being attacked by a mysterious person in the Somnium world Third set of images: Choices with Boss.jpg|Branching choices with Boss Boss at park.jpg|Boss at Abandoned Amusement Park (Shoko Nadami in the back) Shoko dead.jpg|Shoko Nadami dead and with an eye missing Cigarette bud.jpg|Thermograph of a cigarette bud QTE bullet.jpg|Quick time event with a bullet heading straight at you Date finds A-set stand.jpg|Kaname Date finding a stand of A-set with his X-Ray vision Sejima and bodyguards.jpg|So Sejima and his bodyguards Hitomi and Date.jpg|Kaname Date and Hitomi Sagan embracing Trivia * The word "Somnium" is Latin for "dream," which makes the "Somnium Files" part of the game's title literally translate to "Dream Files". * The AI in the title has three meanings: ** A.I., the initials for "Artificial Intelligence," much like Date's A.I. partner, AI-Ball. ** AI, pronounced in english as eye: in reference to the consistent "eye" theme within the game, such as Date's artificial eye which houses AI-Ball, and the serial killer's M.O. for removing the left eyes of their victims. ** Ai, the romanization for 愛: the Japanese word for "love," which is said to be a central theme of the story. * The game was first announced under the title "PROJECT:psync." While a new title has replaced it since then, the word "PSYNC" still appears in various promotional material for the game, such as the trailer and the official website.AI: The Somnium Files Announcement TrailerAI: The Somnium Files Official Website The name Psync was kept to define the name of the machine that can send people's consciousness into the Somnium. * In the first trailer and on the main page, a set of keywords can be seen floating about, potentially foreshadowing certain aspects of the game. These include (and some theories regarding them): ** Cyclops Serial Killings (the name of the murders 6 years prior (and potentially in the present))A-set video: It’s time to talk about the Cyclops Case (might lose subscribers for this...) ** Prisoner No.89 ** Wadjet System ** Abandoned Child ** Geostationary Satellite X00639 (a real life satellite of unknown origin) ** Endorphin Oxitocin (former: hormone that alleviates pain, latter: hormone connected with love) ** Advanced Brain Investigation Squad (Date's detective Squad at the Tokyo MPD) ** Exciting Voltaic Versatile Gun (Date's weapon of use*) ** Chocolate Collector (Iris's obsession with collecting chocolate mascot stickers*) ** Generalized Amnesia (Kaname Date, who lost his memories in the past) ** Bloody Polar Bear (the culprit of the new Cyclops Serial Killings)A-set video: rw nw prt m hrw ** Chemical Plant Explosion (an incident that occurred in the Kabasaki District)A-set video: There's No Way This Trespassing Idol Can Be This Cute! ** Bullet Wound to the Right Shoulder ** Secret Society NAIXATLOZ (a demonic cult) ** Light Synaptic Nerve Connection Device ** ---''one phrase yet to be deciphered''--- ** (*these are just speculative at the moment) * The end of the first trailer features the phrase "Mark 9:47" in one of its few lasts frames. It's a passage from the New Testament in the Bible, which goes as: "And if your eye causes you to fall into sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell." This quote ties in with the game's heavy eye theme. External Links * Official website * English trailer * A-set's English YouTube channel * A-set's Japanese YouTube channel References Category:Media Entry